My special kind of studying...

I don't know about you but when I'm on study leave I spend most of my time trying to avoid actually doing any kind of studying (terrible attitude -- I know). Today was another one of those days and while I probably should have been making myself very well acquainted with the ins and outs of Soviet Russia, I decided it would be more productive of me to bake a cheesecake. Sometimes I struggle to make sense of my own logic. But hey, at least now I can go on to doing my revision filled with a piece of this delicious German cake.

To do it yourself (and avoid doing any proper work like myself) you will need:
For the base
125g of butter
250g of self-raising flour
125g of sugar
1 egg yolk

For the 'cake' part (aka the top)
125g of butter
250g of sugar
1 tbsp of vanilla extract
750ml Quark (a type of soft cheese)
5 medium size eggs
... and a round, standard cake form (about 25cm diameter)

Preheat the oven at 175 degrees. Grease the cake form.
Begin by making a crumbly mixture out of the ingredients for the base. You should do this fairly quickly otherwise it will become too sticky (try using your hands for this part).

Line the form with the mixture (3cm in depth). Prick the base several times with a fork then place in pre-heated oven and cook for about 10 minutes.

Then mix together the soft butter, sugar, vanilla extract and eggs. Add the Quark and mix until creamy.
Pour the Quark-mixture onto the base and bake the cake for another 60 minutes (if it starts to burn, cover it with aluminium foil).

And enjoy...

S.

To share or not to share?

Hello chums and chummettes,
I must first apologise for not posting anything the last couple of days but it's just been so busy. In fact, tomorrow is going to be even busier as I'm going into London. But don't get me wrong... I absolutely love London so it'll be great fun.
Anyway, earlier this evening (due to my very busy few days) I was consequently trying to relax and as so often found myself in the kitchen. I decided on baking a marble cake and god is it delicious so I thought I would share the recipe with you.

For my oh-so-yummy half-chocolate half-vanilla cake you will need:
A bundt cake form (with a diameter of about 22cm)
250g soft butter
250g sugar
1 tablespoon of vanilla extract
1 pinch of salt
4 eggs
300g self-raising flour
5 tablespoons of milk
30g cocoa powder
(and a bar of chocolate for the top)

Start by greasing the form with butter and preheat the oven at 180 degrees.
Put the butter in a mixer and mix until soft and creamy. Then take 3 tablespoonfulls from the sugar and place aside in a bowl (you will need this for the chocolatey half later). Pour the sugar, vanilla extract, salt and eggs in with the butter and mix.

Add the flour and 3 spoonfuls of milk, alternating between the two (aka 100g flour, 1 spoonful milk, 100g flour another spoonful milk etc).
Put 2/3rds of the mixture into the form. Then pour the cocoa powder, the rest of the sugar and the other 2 spoonfuls of milk in with the remaining mixture.

Add the chocolate half on top of the vanilla half in the form and using a fork create a marble pattern:

Place the cake on the lower shelf in the oven and bake for about 1 hour.
When it's done (check by piercing the cake with a fork - if it's still droopy/wet then leave for another 20 minutes), leave to stand for a few minutes while you melt the chocolate bar. Do this either in the microwave or by putting the chocolate into bowl over boiling water. Decorate the cake with chocolate and serve. Enjoy!

S.

The ups and downs of a green life...

I'm not going to pretend that I am the healthiest girl you'd ever meet because that is quite simply not true. I love chocolate; in fact, I love anything that isn't green (aka nothing that's healthy in some way). Food for me is not a hobby but a passion and on the not so rare occasion you will find me comfortably on the sofa with my two favourite men - Ben. And Jerry.

But anyway, a while ago, I came across some healthy recipes. With Summer around the corner and my trying to defeat the little chocolate pouch that has gradually accumulated itself in the most unflattering place, I figured it was time to kick those chocolate easter eggs in the bullocks and move on. 

The recipe I came across was for something called a 'Green Smoothie' (sounds disgusting, I know, but let me finish). It's packed with all sorts of wonderfully healthy things and actually, I thought it was quite yummy. 

So here's how to do it...

Ingredients:

1 banana

1 apple (alternatively a pear)

1 handful of kale leaves

1 handful of spinach

1 celery stalk

1/2 a cup of cold water

1/2 cup of orange juice

Basically: cut up the banana, the apple and the celery. Chop off any tough stems on the kale leaves and the spinach. Put all the ingredients into a blender. Pour in the water and the orange juice, blend it and voila!

p.s. First time round I put in 2 celery stalks but trust me, don't try it -- it was truly horrific (very bitter in my opinion). However, I personally like to put in two bananas as it tastes a little less 'green'.

S.

With a splash of red...

Last Summer I found the most amazing pair of red flats. Doesn't sound all that special, I know, but they weren't just any old pair of red shoes. They were the most vibrant, juicy red and the material was wonderful -- a sort of velvety texture. Needless to say they were my favourite pair and I wore them out quicker than you can say "Zara".

So anyway, I've been on the hunt, literally prowling through the shops, to try and find a similar pair for months but with no success. I desperately turned to any true girl's glorious world of online shopping and managed to find a few gorgeous pieces that I wanted to share with you:

1. Basic Velvet Slipper, Zara; 
2. Studded Ankle Strap Sandals, Zara; 
3. Red Slipper Shoes, New Look; 
4. TOMS Classic Slip-On Red Crochet, Office.

What do you guys think?

S.

A little bit of hope...

Good evening world,

I don't know about you but I hate Mondays. They are just one of those things that have been created to make man-kind suffer, and to be quite honest, most of the time I really just wish they'd go away. But not this week. This week is different. I really don't want Monday to leave me... because that would mean that Wednesday will be here sooner than I'd like. And along with it the glorious moment that school nerds/officials/(or just plainly) teachers like to call the 'French Oral Exam'. Never has anything sent so many shivers down my spine.

But what can be done about it, I ask? Nothing! Well nothing that I can do anyway. So to pass the time before the exam and really to keep myself from falling into an endless abyss of self-pity, I came up with an ingenious idea. If all goes to plan, I don't fail and have done lots of revision then I will reward myself with one of these babies:

1. Heather Leather Watch - Grey

2. Georgia Leather Watch - Black

3. Cecile Stainless Stell Watch

4. Stella Stainless Stell Watch - Rose and Brown; all Fossil

I'll admit that I have been admiring them for quite some time, but nothing has happened on which I 

could possibly blame the purchase and so my hopes were squashed. Until now.

And I must say I've never felt better about revision. Only problem is, which one do I go for (they are all so beautiful...)?! Luckily I still have time to consider... In the meantime, well, you know what I'll be doing.

S.

Hello y'all

Before I begin blogging I feel that I should tell you a little about myself - after all, it's now or never.

I've been on blogger for a little over two years now but in no way do I pride myself to be an expert.  My other blog 'Naturally Fashion' was where it all began. I always imagined that I would become a fashion journalist, etching and sketching my way through the life of a fashiolista; what could possibly be more glamorous? But then life changed. I met a man of the type you only find in dreams and I couldn't possibly resist. I began my A-levels, and so am stuck inside my room most nights slaving away over work and trying desperately to find a way of procrastinating actually doing anything. Luckily I am finishing my exams at the end of May and then long, glorious summer holidays will be staring me in the face - hooray!

So about me: I love chocolate (well, what girl doesn't?), my favourite colour is blue and my idea of a lullaby is Lana Del Rey on full blast. Sometimes I'm difficult (most times exaggerated) but somehow life still makes me happy. They say blog about yourself, but I say blog about everything. So here we are... Hello, enjoy and let's do it!

S.